Sometimes we go a little overboard with the cocktail recipes. Amateur mixologists don’t really need 20 or 30 drinks to learn at one time, but we also can’t really help ourselves when it comes to celebrating the national holidays of margaritas, mezcal, and tequila. For National Cocktail Day, however, let’s dial it back a little and focus on simply learning how to make a pair of drinks that’ll not only be your favorites, but will also knock your friends’ and guests’ socks off.
At any given time, I have approximately 100 new recipes to choose from in my inbox, but for this occasion I have chosen two based on my personal spirits preferences. The first is a delightful drink from Mezcal El Silencio, which not only produces one of the best bottles around, but also has one of the coolest accommodations in Mexico. And the other is a tequila twist on the whiskey smash, brought to us by my favorite neat sipping choice, Gran Centenario Cristalino.
Both of these bottles belong in your home bar, and you’ll probably agree once you try these cocktails.
Blood Orange Margarita
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Mezcal El Silencio Espadin
- 1 oz Agave nectar
- 1 Blood orange, juiced
- 1 Cara cara orange, Juiced
- 1 Lime, juiced
How to Make It:
Combine the ingredients in a shaker with ice, but feel free to start light on the juices and then add to find your preferred taste. Pour over ice and garnish with a blood orange peel or wedge.
Vined Up
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Gran Centenario Cristalino
- 0.5 oz Fresh lime juice
- 0.5 oz Fresh cucumber water
- 0.25 oz Simple syrup
- 5 Sweet green grapes
Garnish: Long cucumber peel and 1 green grape
How to Make It:
Muddle 5 grapes in a mixing tin and then add remaining ingredients with ice. Shake and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with lime peel and 1 green grape.
